1 Kings 17:2 And the word of the Lord came to him

IN our previous lesson, we learned how the name "Lord" (some translations print it as "LORD") defines God as the eternally existent "I AM", whose sovereign authority reigns over the universe he has created. In this understanding, let's focus on Elijah receiving "the word of the Lord" as it came to him. Have you ever considered how this simple sentence reveals a remarkable miracle? Think about this: The eternal I AM has acted to speak to his creation. Purposefully, the Lord comes to speak of himself so that you will know him. Knowing him, you will know his ways. Knowing his ways, you will know the way to life everlasting.

           Is this not a profound miracle? I suppose being aware of this miracle is what marks my life and causes me to do what I do. I cannot fully comprehend that God would offer himself to me as completely as he has. He has urged me to read his Bible. Through the reading of his Word, I have come to know him more intimately each day. My response, when he speaks to me, can only be, "Yes, Lord."

           But, yes, there are days when I prefer to say, "No, Lord." I don't like what he points me to do, so I find something else or nothing else to do. I neglect his ways and avoid his teachings because I become too uncertain, uncomfortable and complacent. On those days, I must pause to consider again the miracle of God's Word come so clearly to tell me who is Lord.

           We will see how Elijah responded to the Lord's word. He will deal with some very hard circumstances. Many times we will be ready to say, "No, Lord." as evil rears its deadly head. To overcome his self-view, Elijah will need to empty himself of the voices of self-pity and pain to, instead, be filled with I AM's holy voice - a voice that cannot be denied.

           I pray you realize the miracle of God's word come to you. I hope you fight through your self-view to view God's Bible as a great miracle for your life. In awe and wonder, give thanks to God for (Ephesians 1:9) "making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ."

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Word. Give me listening ears. In Jesus' name, amen. 

1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." 

AS we ended our study of Ezekiel yesterday, I'd like to pause a moment to remind you of the journey we began as we started Ezekiel. It was about May 1 when I indicated we would study “5 E's” of the Bible. Although there are others "E's" we could include, the ones I will focus on are Ezekiel, Elijah, Elisha, Esther and Ephesians. The overall purpose is to show you how God used the ministries of these 3 Prophets, of Esther and of the Apostle Paul to teach us of sin's penalty and salvation's glory.

            Now we go to the Prophet Elijah. The "jah" of Elijah is short for Yahweh, referring to God's supreme existence. Our word "Lord" has similar meaning as we name God with a word that reminds us he is our all-in-all, the "I AM" as he declared to Moses in Exodus 3.

            Elijah ministered 250 years before Ezekiel. In the power of God, he spoke into the lives of Ahab and Jezebel, husband and wife. They ruled Israel, the Northern Kingdom from 874-853 BC. We see what Elijah was up against in Ahab, who is described in 1 Kings 16:30-32 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.

            As every king of Israel, Ahab ignored God's commands regarding God's commands for worship and marriage. Ahab, sadly, was a liar and a thief, the kind of shepherd that destroys his sheep as Jesus describes in John 10. Evil ruled Ahab; yet, God mercifully sent Elijah to speak into Ahab's sin and call him to repentance.

            To punish Ahab's and Israel's evil, the Lord sends Elijah to proclaim drought upon the land. Needless to say, Elijah becomes Ahab's enemy. At the outset of his ministry, Elijah's life is in jeopardy. We'll see how God cares for his Prophet. We'll see God's glory come forth in the power of Elijah to proclaim Yahweh alone is the true eternal God. He alone is Lord, worthy to be worshiped.

Prayer: Lord God, you are Almighty, the eternal God, who cares for our every need. Keep our hearts tuned to worship only you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Ezekiel 48:35(b) "And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is there." 

WE conclude our look at Ezekiel with a very appropriate and reassuring promise. As God ends his instructions on rebuilding the people Israel, the nation Judah and the city Jerusalem to once again worship him, God says that the city will be known as "The Lord is there." This is a very, very intimate and personal promise God gives to Israel - and to you.

           In the Hebrew language there are many different names for God. These names refer specifically to the various truths of God's character. One of those names is Jehovah Shaamah. The name means 'the Presence of the Lord is over all". Think about this: From the beginning of his Holy Word, God has revealed his intention to be with us, his special creation. We see him walk and speak with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. See, too, how he comes to dwell with his people in the Exodus Tabernacle. Remember also how his Presence filled the first temple. Through Ezekiel, he has now promised to dwell with his people in the second temple as the Glory of the Lord returns.

           But this is just the beginning! Even more personally, God fulfilled in Jesus Christ his promise of his intimate presence with us. As Isaiah 7:14 declared a child named Immanuel, "God with us" would come, we certainly know God did come in Jesus Christ to dwell among men. Further, we celebrate Communion because Jesus transformed the Bread of the Presence from the temple's altar into the eternal bread of his holy Presence in our souls. He gave us the sacred meal that we would remember his body broken for us and his blood shed for us. In Communion we remember the Lord's sacrificial and holy Presence.

           We also can recall Jesus' promise to his disciples as he ascended to heaven in Matthew 28:20 "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." And in great wonder, you must be assured that as you are saved in Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells you. Indeed, Jehovah Shaamah is in you in the sacrifice of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit.

           Fittingly, the New Testament ends in much the same way as Ezekiel ends. The Apostle John, too, describes the new city God will construct to prepare for the eternal time when God will live with his own forever. In the new Heaven, God will intimately live with us as he did in the Garden of Eden. Revelation 21:3 "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." It is appropriate that John prayed to conclude the vision of the events to come with "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.'"

            I'm not sure how you've responded to the lessons from Ezekiel. But know this: Ezekiel mirrors the Bible as God's teaching on the entire counsel of God. In other words, God used Ezekiel to reveal to his people that they had a great problem. They were sinners separated from him. His only appropriate response to their sin was the wrath of his judgment. To appease his wrath against Israel's sin, God first judged them with death and exile. Then by his grace he came to offer his salvation to his people to bring them home again. This promise is given to those who would call on his name and worship him.

           The entire Bible speaks the same truths. Because of our sin nature from Adam, we are born with a problem. God's wrath against our sins is upon our souls. To appease his wrath, God's judgment has come not to us, but upon Jesus. Through Jesus' death, God's wrath was satisfied. And now the Holy Spirit comes to us by his grace to call us home into God's holy presence. If we turn to him to repent of our sins, to confess Jesus is Lord and seek to live in the Lord's Presence, we will be saved.

           Saved in Jesus, we live in the promise that we now dwell with God and he with us. We live knowing we are his people forevermore. Learn from Ezekiel. Believe in God. Believe God. Worship God. Be joyfully assured of his holy Presence. Be mindful that this Good News is to be shared with everyone you know.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Shaamah for your eternal Presence in my soul. May I live with joy and awe that you have saved me from my sins. Give voice to my joy, so others will know. In Jesus' name and the Spirit's power, amen.

Ezekiel 47:1-12 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. 3 Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. 9 And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

INTO Israel's desert of sin and dry bones of disobedience comes the renewing power of the Living God. Here is God's promised future of the abundant life Jesus would later proclaim in John 10:10(b) "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." 

    Yes, this vision of life streaming from Jerusalem points to the thirst-quenching Gospel of God flowing from Jesus' blood poured out on the cross. Living, healing streams of water is Jesus' assurance in John 7:37-39 "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

    Yes, the Spirit gave a vision to Ezekiel. The Spirit fulfilled the vision in Jesus. And then the Spirit gave a future vision to John our eternal life in Revelation 22:1-3 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

    From the shallow stream of Jesus' blood in Jerusalem, the Gospel runs deeper and deeper throughout the world until all in Jesus will rejoice in the Living Water's refreshing joy one day.

    Is it any wonder Jesus said to the broken woman at the well in Samaria (John 4:13-15) "Everyone who drinks of this water (from the well) will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

    Then is it any surprise the woman replied, (John 4:15) "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." The Spirit had touched her to know her spiritual thirst. Doe your soul thirst for life, hope and love? Know, then, in Jesus you have one true water to drink.

    Water is life. The Living Water of the Gospel of God is eternal life. Be thirsty for Jesus to pour over you. Drink the life-giving Gospel and be satisfied forever.

Prayer: Father in heaven, thank for Jesus, the Living Water. Fill the streams of our souls with him on this day. Amen.